How Realtors Can Take Advantage of the Current Housing Market

A Realtor's job is to build a client list and through that client list, work referrals and do what is necessary to survive. Looking for potential clients such as open house, floor duty and cold calling. There is a large amount of ways to work in a foreclosure market, you just have to look. How a Realtor can take advantage of a declining foreclosure market by being aware of the new situations and adapting towards change.

I became a Realtor 22 years ago and during that time the market was in crisis. Home prices were dropping like crazy and Realtors were resigning their positions and choosing to go work for a salary. Not me, I started in a bad year, but I survived. How can a Realtor take advantage of the current housing market? By leaps and bounds and lots of hard work. Any good Realtor can survive any type situation and at any time of the year.

Ethics are the keys:

Ethics and good old know how will get you through this crisis. No matter how poor I ever was, I never ever took advantage of anyone. I had many couples come to me after they just had a bad fight and want to sell their home, I refused. I would send them home to cool off and tell them to come back in a week to talk. Not one of them returned. I cut cost and commissions to help people during these times and they remembered me big time.

I remember one woman who flat out lied to me about her situation and I cut my commission to help her buy a huge home. She was a dentist and she repaired every single tooth I ever needed having fixed. She referred three clients to me and she was my new best friend. How can you take advantage of the housing situation, never act poor. Never beg, borrow or steal and never loose your ethics.

Invest where needed:

As many people are desperate to sell their homes, they will come to you and ask you to find a buyer. If you see a fabulous deal and you have the funds invest. BUT, first disclose to the seller what your position is and tell them that you are buying the property under market value. Many sellers will want to sell quickly and will agree. Note on the sales agreement that you have disclosed your fiduciary duty to the seller.

This is a time to become a millionaire investor. It is a time, not to take advantage of anyone, but to help those who need helping. There is nothing wrong in investing in foreclosed properties for yourself. What do you mean, you want to stay home and read up on the magazines. Get up and work and work hard and you will succeed.

Hard work, due diligence and ethics will help any agent to succeed. I know, I went from a Southern girl to a owner of the largest independent office in my town. I did it in the worse of conditions and I did it honestly and truthfully. One of the main requirements to get a license is "Honesty and Truthfulness." When you become a Realtor, you testify to this. A Realtor is a member of a board of Realtors not a sales agent.

If you are a member of the Board of Realtors, you can be brought up on charges for acting against ethics and honesty. Realtors have to pay fees every year to belong and they are the cream of the crop, hopefully anyway.

Short Sales and Foreclosures:

It is a time to specialize in short sales and foreclosures. You can send letters out to all families in foreclosure and offer to help them. You can get a list from the title company and they will let you know how to contact them. I went to a seminar once and this guy told me to say simply, "I have someone interested in your home," and sign my name in ink. I received tons of replies and I specialized in short sales. I did take a reduced commission, but a 5% commission of 5 million dollars is a lot better than 6% commission of nothing.

Now is not a time to retire and sit back, it is a time to work longer hours, contact your past clients for referrals, send out letters to foreclosures, cold call on the phone and "walk the walk." Don't sit back and drink coffee, work and work harder. It is possible, I know for sure.